


Not the Desperate Type

by lululawrence



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, American AU, Awkwardness, Fluff and Humor, Humor, I honestly have no idea what i've done or how to tag this, I hope, Kinda, M/M, Meet-Cute, Neighbors, No Smut, References to Sex, Strangers to Lovers, a lot of it, but still there's, which was incredibly difficult considering how much of this fic still revolves around sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 20:00:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14433015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: “First of all, I’d like to tell you how disturbing it is that you’re this familiar with your neighbor’s sex life,” Liam said, amusement lacing his tone.“Fuck off,” Louis said, laughing.“Second, that is really very sad. How bad is the stomping? Are you sure your neighbor doesn’t like it fast like that?”“With the amount of cleaning the guy does, I think he’s taking out his sexual frustration on the cleanliness of his apartment. I can’t imagine the guy makes enough mess to require daily vacuuming.”It sounded like the guy was actually moving furniture above him as he was sweeping now. Damn. Did Louis miss the seven minutes in heaven or was the guy angry because he didn’t even get that much pleasure today?“I’m kinda afraid with the amount of noise he produces while cleaning that one day I’m gonna look up through my ceiling and be able to see him.”“Tell him we wish him a better sex life and that we’re rooting for him if you do.”Or the one where Louis' neighbor has a series of unfortunately short sexual experiences and Louis can hear every. Single. One.





	Not the Desperate Type

**Author's Note:**

> I...well. I blame this on [Emmu](http://londonfoginacup.tumblr.com) because she came running into our weird dream chat on Sunday and said "I want the AU!" with the link to [this post](http://hybrid-louis.tumblr.com/post/173200883207/tchalisew-kolalakay-tchalisew) and I suddenly had to write it. And here we are. lollll I should have been writing hurt/comfort angst for the Flicker fic thing, but instead, I wrote this. Go figure. 
> 
> This fic was written as part of an ongoing challenge using the book 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names for our prompts. To read the other fics written in this challenge, [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/ShortFic_Challenge_For_Which_There_Is_No_Name/works). You can find more information on the challenge here and to reblog the masterpost on tumblr, you can [click here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/159679804243/1000-feelings-for-which-there-are-no-names-prompt).
> 
> My prompt was 800: the fear of possibly running into the new neighbor on the stairs. What kind of utter perfection is that?
> 
> Anyway! Biggest thank you to the weird dream chat for laughing with me when I was being ridiculous and particularly to [Mollu](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) for her amazing beta skills as per usual. All remaining mistakes are my own and only my own.
> 
> The title comes from the Fall Out Boy song Seven Minutes in Heaven, cause that title was already taken by another fic in the fandom and I think I'm funny. Hopefully you do too after reading this. lol Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Edit: I ALMOST FORGOT!!! The amazing [Jacky](http://comebackassholes.tumblr.com) and [Tabby](http://suddenclarityharry.tumblr.com) helped me figure out how the hell to wrap this all up so I dedicate the final scene to them. THANK YOU FRIENDS!

Louis slowly came to consciousness thanks the light hitting him right in the face. In his drunken rush to get into bed he must have closed the blinds the wrong way and now the sun was shining in his face. He hated when that happened.

Suddenly, Louis remembered. He’d pulled last night and not come home alone. Had he kicked him out after, or let him stay? Shit, that part was a little fuzzy. 

Louis took a deep but hopefully not jarring breath in and couldn’t smell anything but his own sweaty self. That was good news, but next Louis had to actually roll over and make sure the bed was empty. He closed his eyes tight and counted to three before rolling onto his back and looking to find the right side of the bed rumpled, but definitely cold and empty. Excellent.

Taking his time stretching, Louis sat up and looked around. It was still before noon, which was pretty good considering how late he’d gotten to bed last night, and somehow he was without a hangover. Today would be a good day.

It was when Louis was sitting at the table, scrolling Facebook and eating Coco Pops, that he started hearing his new neighbor upstairs. It sounded like they were a caveman or something, the way they stomped about. Louis had barely heard them since they’d moved in a few days ago, though he supposed they always did have heavier than usual footsteps. 

It made Louis think of the attorneys that worked on the floor above his at the office and how all of those middle aged men sounded like they were a herd of elephants with how they stomped around their offices. He’d always assumed that maybe they walked that heavily because their guilty consciences weighed them down so much, but it made Louis a little sad to think about whoever was living above him having such a heavy conscience that they made his kitchen light sway a little. 

Louis rinsed out his bowl and was just about to head to the shower when he noticed a slip of paper underneath his door. God, if it was management saying they were needing to do another maintenance check of his apartment he was going to be angry. He hated feeling like they were checking to see if he’d broken anything since the last time.

Once he opened the paper, he realized he was partially right but also very wrong. It was from his management, but it wasn’t about any maintenance needing to be done. 

> _ Mr. Tomlinson, _
> 
> _ There was a noise complaint made against you last night by your neighbor in 3B regarding loud noises past midnight. We would like to remind you of the noise levels you agreed upon when signing your lease and are issuing a warning. If another noise complaint is made, the next step is a monetary fine followed by a termination of the lease if the issue is not remedied.  _
> 
> _ Fox and Hound Management _

Louis was… Well. He was a mixture of emotions. Embarrassed, because while he knew he was loud during sex, he usually did try to keep it down. Apparently last night he hadn’t succeeded. At least that was proof the sex had been pretty damn phenomenal, right? Angry, because seriously? 3B was the apartment right above him, and if that was the case, then the same neighbor who was stomping around like a rhinoceros was the one who had made the noise complaint. Hypocritical much? Flustered, because of the three years he had lived there this was the first complaint made against him. Louis took pride in being a good member of society, and now he had a noise complaint made against him because he’d been a little too noisy during sex.

Rolling his eyes and deciding he would worry more about the complaint later, Louis balled the paper up and threw it across the room towards the trash can. It didn’t quite make it, but Louis didn’t care. He’d take care of it after his shower. Hopefully the animal upstairs would be able to keep from stomping through the floor.

 

*~~***~~*

 

_ Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. _

Louis had been laying in bed trying to figure out if he could get away with sleeping just a little bit longer when the sound had started up above him.

_ Squeak. Squeak. Bang. _

Damn. Louis had been pretty sure it was just one person living above him if the heavy, angry footsteps that had been shaking Louis’ apartment over the past day or so were any indication, but to be having Sunday morning sex starting up at…

Louis leaned up to check his alarm clock. 10:25.

To be having Sunday morning sex starting up at 10:25 must mean they have a live in partner, right?

_ “Oh God, yes,” _ a deep voice moaned loudly. 

Louis rolled his eyes and glared at the ceiling. Was that the voice of the person who lived above him, or their partner?

_ Squeak. Bang. Squeak. _

Two different but equally deep moans erupted, and Louis got up. He didn’t need to listen to these people have hot sex right above him. God. Was his neighbor seriously getting back at him with equally loud sex? The dude had already had management issue a noise complaint. Was that not enough?

There was one more last loud groan and then the squeaking and banging of the bed stopped. 

Wait, seriously? That was it? Louis turned to his clock. 10:29. 

No. There was no way it was over already, right? 

Louis stood stock still and there was the squeaky floorboard going off by the bedroom door. Louis had come to ignore that sound for the most part, he’d been hearing it regularly for three years, but shit. That’s just sad. 

Four minutes? Maybe five considering they hopefully started up before the bed started getting moving, but still. Were they racing against the clock for their orgasms or something? God, Louis couldn’t even remember the last time he’d come that fast. Maybe back when he was sixteen and first felt someone else’s hand on his dick.

No wonder the guy was stomping around his apartment yesterday after Louis was a little loud. His round of sex definitely lasted longer than five minutes. The guy upstairs was probably jealous. Louis thoroughly expected the stomping to continue through the day, if that was all he was getting this morning, and maybe some loud Sunday vacuuming as well.

Minutes later, Louis could hear the door above him slam shut and he stared in wonder. Please say that means  _ both _ of them left for brunch or something and not just that the dude who was obviously a below par fuck had left already. 

_ Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. _

Well damn. Louis couldn’t even muster up annoyance at the poor guy. He wanted to send him a show of solidarity or something. Hopefully it was just a booty call or the last fuck after he pulled the night before and sent the guy on his way. No one deserves such short and paltry sex as what Louis just overheard.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“No, Li, you aren’t understanding me,” Louis said into his phone as he unlocked his door. “It’s not about the fact that they didn’t have the right brand of pasta, it’s that they didn’t have a whole wheat option for linguine at all!”

Louis tried to catch his door before it slammed shut, but with his arms full of groceries and keys as well as his phone being precariously pressed between his ear and shoulder, his balance was already a chancey thing and the crash made him wince.

“Shit, I hope 3B doesn’t complain again cause of that.”

“Again?” Liam’s voice asked with concern. “What do you mean again?”

Louis bit his lip and then sighed when the stomping started up again above him. That guy seriously needed and deserved a better dicking down than he’d gotten a few days ago. Maybe then he wouldn’t be vacuuming his hardwood floors on the daily and his stomping would calm down a little bit.

“My new neighbor upstairs might have made a noise complaint about me over the weekend.”

“Over a slamming door?” Liam’s voice was getting louder and Louis knew that meant he was starting to get righteously angry. Louis really didn’t want to have to deal with a righteously angry Liam right now.

“No, it…” Louis dropped his groceries on the table and hung his head. “I might have been a little, urm, overly passionate at a late hour.”

The line went silent before suddenly Liam burst into laughter. 

“It’s not funny!” Louis cried even as he smiled. Liam’s laughter was addictive, so sue him if he couldn’t hold back a smile even if the laughter was at his own expense.

“It really is, bro,” Liam said with a giggle. “Damn, you must have been even louder than usual. Think you even outdid that night with Nick our junior year where-”

“You really can stop now!” Louis cried in an attempt to make Liam stop. It worked, thank goodness, but still. Louis could feel his face flaming red. “God, you’re never going to let me live that down.”

“It was a shared dorm, Lou. And you two were seriously saying all that shit so loud that I swear they could hear it the next building over!”

“Whatever. No. It wasn’t like that! I don’t think. Anyway, he put up a noise complaint because my sex was too loud, but that’s not even the worst part.”

Louis could imagine Liam’s furrowed brown and the way he was probably blinking repeatedly in the quiet space over the line.

“Why haven’t you told me the worst part yet?” Liam demanded. “You don’t usually wait for my prompting to keep going in your stories. Damn, this guy has your timing all off.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Fine. Anyway, the worst part is the guy in 3B? The noise complaint dude? He’s got the heaviest footsteps, man. He’s always careening around his apartment like he weighs five gazillion pounds, and while I’d usually find that annoying, I feel bad for the guy! The past three days he’s had really loud sex and at first I thought he was getting back at me, but I swear to God it never lasts longer than seven minutes.”

“Seven minutes? Like for the whole show?”

“Yes!” Louis cried as he opened his freezer to put in his new ice cream stash. “From the beginning of the groans to the squeaking and banging of the headboard to the front door closing and the poor dude who can’t please my neighbor fully leaving, it never lasts longer than ten minutes, so taking out clean up time, yeah, seven minutes.”

“First of all, I’d like to tell you how disturbing it is that you’re this familiar with your neighbor’s sex life,” Liam said, amusement lacing his tone.

“Fuck off,” Louis said, laughing.

“Second, that is really very sad. How bad is the stomping? Are you sure your neighbor doesn’t  _ like _ it fast like that?”

Louis glanced up at the ceiling as a particularly loud  _ bang _ sounded before the vacuum started up again. Louis checked the time. It was past nine. God, his poor neighbor.

“With the amount of cleaning the guy does, I think he’s taking out his sexual frustration on the cleanliness of his apartment. I can’t imagine the guy makes enough mess to require daily vacuuming. He probably uses all the rest of his energy that his sex partner doesn’t use up to make sure his place is sparkling!”

It sounded like the guy was actually moving furniture above him as he was sweeping now. Damn. Did Louis miss the seven minutes in heaven or was the guy angry because he didn’t even get that much pleasure today?

“I’m kinda afraid with the amount of noise he produces while cleaning that one day I’m gonna look up through my ceiling and be able to see him.”

“Tell him we wish him a better sex life and that we’re rooting for him if you do.”

“I hate you.” Then, a thought jolted through Louis. “Oh my God. Liam! What if I actually run into this guy on the stairs?!”

“Haven’t you met the guy yet?” Liam asked. “I thought you said he moved in last week.”

“Yeah, but our schedules apparently don’t coincide, or haven’t yet. I haven’t met him! I only know for sure it’s a him because of the groaning!”

“Okay, so I don’t see the issue.”

Louis whined and slammed the fridge door shut, making his condiment bottles rattle. “It’s like you said! I know too much about his sex life and, obviously, if he made a noise complaint because of mine, it’s the same for him too! I can’t possibly meet him now! How fucking awkward would that be?”

“Lou,” Liam said in his usual patronizing tone when he thought Louis was overreacting to something. “Stop freaking out. He probably won’t even realize it’s you. If anything, when you meet the guy and on the off chance he  _ does _ know you’re the loud sex neighbor, just say you can give him a better time than whatever his current partner is offering.”

“I hate you, don’t talk to me ever again.” Louis could hear Liam’s loud laughter even as he hung up the phone. 

Less than half an hour later, the groans began. Just as Louis anticipated, the other participant walked out the door twelve minutes later.

 

*~~***~~*

 

_ Louis: OMG 3B is getting fucked within an inch of his life! _ __  
_ Louis: He’s finally getting the sex everyone deserves! _ _  
_ _ Louis: This has  _ got __ to be a different guy because holy shit, the dude’s groans are making me get hot and bothered

_ Liam: WTF why are you telling me this shit i hate you so much _

_ Louis: No you don’t, shut up.  _ _  
_ _ Louis: Listening to this guy get it on the regular, even if it is super quickies, has me wishing I got it on the regular too. _

_ Liam: I’m putting my phone on DND and making Zayn help me forget this conversation ever happened. _

_ Louis: Enjoy your mind blowing sex! _ _  
_ _ Louis: Damn, it must have been the same dude cause nine minutes and it’s over already. RIP 3B. _

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Honestly though, which is worse: Getting seven minutes in heaven on the regular,  _ but that’s all, _ or only getting fucked once a month or so?”

Zayn hid his chuckles in his shoulder as Liam stared at Louis blankly. 

“You’re obsessed and I really wish you weren’t.”

“Awww,” Zayn cooed as he gently ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. “Let Louis go off. He’s tired of getting turned on only to have to finish himself off.”

Louis gasped and held his hand to his chest in mock affront. “How very dare you! I only got turned on once, but yes, I am kind of tired of having to finish myself off. Then again, 3B might be too.”

“You’re gonna meet that guy at some point and have to call him something other than 3B,” Liam muttered before sipping on his beer. 

“Technically I do know his last name is Styles since his name was finally added above his mailbox, but it feels weird calling him by his last name when talking about his sex life since i haven’t actually met him.”

Zayn stopped trying to hide his laughter and just leaned forward, his head in the crook of his elbow as he rested on the table. 

“I don’t understand why this is so funny,” Louis said with a pout.

“That’s because you’re a fucking idiot,” Liam said. “Now, take a look at the bar. There’s a nice looking guy over there who’s been shooting looks your way for the better part of an hour.”

Louis’ jaw dropped. “What? Seriously? Is he looking over here now? I want to be subtle or whatever, but like-”

Louis stopped speaking mid sentence when Zayn started laughing even harder and Liam kicked him under the table. 

“Just fucking look, oh my God. I deserve to be paid for being such a good friend,” Liam complained.

Louis looked out of the corner of his eye and saw only a single person sitting at the bar. It made sense, it was fairly early in the night and most of the patrons were eating at the tables, not sitting at the bar. Was the guy there alone then? Why else was he sitting at the bar for as long as Liam had said he had been?

Shit, his back was gorgeous. All beautiful shoulders and the way the t-shirt pulled across his muscles made Louis practically salivate. The man rolled his head and the little hairs that were curling and falling out of his messy bun just worked to make his neck look even longer and more graceful and shit. Since when did Louis think people’s necks were nice to look at?

“He’s totally your type, Lou,” Zayn said, his voice soft, but Louis was still somehow able to be hear him above the music and chatter surrounding them. “You should go say hi.”

Louis shook his head. “I dunno. I’ve gotta be at work early for a conference call so I don’t think tonight is the night for me to go home with someone, ya know?”

“You were literally just complaining about not getting any on a regular basis and now you’re turning the chance down?” Liam asked.

“I only went there because you two never answered my question! Is getting a fast, sub-par sex session in on an almost daily basis better or worse than a phenomenal fuck once a month?”

While Liam and Zayn began debating the pros and cons of each situation, Louis peeked over his shoulder and saw the man had turned and was looking at Louis. Their eyes met, and Louis felt like he could hardly breathe, much less move and break eye contact. His eyes were piercing, though he was far enough away Louis couldn’t tell the exact color, and his jawline made Louis want to mark it up and claim him. That was a very dangerous thought to have, considering Louis wasn’t looking for a relationship right now.

“Are you even hearing what we’re saying?” Liam said, kicking at Louis again. 

Louis shifted fast enough so Liam’s foot only connected with the bottom of the booth. Hah, served him right. “God, I’m going to wake up with so many bruises if your behavior continues, Loofa. Please control yourself.”

“I hate that one,” Liam said as he sank into the booth. 

“I know, Loam. Stop kicking me and I’ll go back to Lima Payno and Leemo.” Louis arched brow and Liam rolled his eyes. 

Louis chanced one last glance at the gorgeous guy that had made him completely zone out just a few seconds before. Louis found him sending a dimpled smile Louis’ direction before he got up off his stool and left the bar. 

Well. At least Louis didn’t have to feel conflicted about going home with someone on a work night. 

“I really do think, though, that even with all that being said, one good night of sex is better than repetitious nights of horrible sex.”

“Thank you, Zayn. I think I agree,” Louis said with a nod. 

 

*~~***~~*

 

The following Sunday was fairly quiet. Louis could hear 3B walking around, but there wasn’t any stomping and there definitely wasn’t any loud sex so he considered it an improvement. Louis was lounging on his couch trying to watch a rerun of the West Wing as he dozed to dreams of beautiful backs and graceful necks when his phone rang.

“Dude, did you get the wedding invite for Niall?”

Louis blinked himself awake as his brain tried to process what Liam was saying.

“Niall? Wedding invite? Did Shawn finally propose?”

“What the hell, Louis. Yes, Shawn proposed like six months ago. Did you really not know that? It’s been all over their Instagram.”

“I always forget I have that one,” Louis said as he rubbed his eyes. “I usually just do Facebook and you know how they filter shit on there.”

“Well, Insta does now too, but whatever. We apparently got the wedding invite in the mail yesterday, but Zayn forgot to tell me and I just found it on the counter. So you haven’t gotten yours yet?”

“Uhh,” Louis stood up and stretched, his hip popping a little before he thought back. “I don’t actually think I remembered to check the mail yesterday. I should go do that.”

“I’ll stay on the line while you do, because I want to hear your reaction when you see the invite.”

Liam continued to babble as Louis shoved his feet into a pair of Chucks then made his way down the stairs. He was lucky his building wasn’t as old as others in the city. At Liam and Zayn’s place he would have lost the call, but he can still hear Liam’s voice droning on as he makes his way to the main floor. 

Pushing through the door to the lobby where the mailboxes were, Louis froze. 

“Liam, I’ve gotta go,” Louis whispered forcefully into the phone. Why he was whispering, he wasn’t sure. The man in question could probably hear him anyway. “I’ll call you back shortly.”

Louis shoved the phone in his pocket and did his best to focus on the very familiar beautiful back he had just been dreaming about a few minutes ago that was standing in front of the mailboxes. 

The 3B mailbox, to be exact. It was right next to his own 2B mailbox, so Louis was very familiar with the positioning and knew it couldn’t be the person in 3A or 3C, because old Mr. Drueson and the Kanderwall twins were acquaintances of Louis’. But truly...could the gorgeous man at the bar be the rhinoceros stomper with the bad sex partner from 3B?

Louis took a deep breath and continued walking towards the mailboxes. Shit. Guess he might as well get it over with.

Right as he sidled up to his own mailbox, nice back guy AKA 3B AKA Styles looked up at Louis. He had a soft smile on his face, mouth open like he was about to say something, when he realized who Louis was and his eyes widened a bit.

“Hey,” he said, smile brightening even more. That was a good sign at least. Louis wasn’t sure what his reaction would be when he learned what apartment Louis lived in, though. “You probably don’t remember me, but-”

“The bar the other night, yeah,” Louis said, not feeling bad about interrupting if it helped the guy know Louis remembered him too. “I didn’t know you live here.”

“Yeah, same with you,” the man said, and damn. His eyes were green, a really pale green that made the intensity with which he looked at Louis that much more unsettling. “You also forget to pick up the mail yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Louis said with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I wouldn’t have remembered until tomorrow if it wasn’t for my friend mentioning the mail.”

Louis steeled himself, ready for the awkwardness that was soon to follow as Styles watched Louis put his key into the mailbox for 2B. He gave himself the chance to open the door and gather the mail from it before looking up at the beautiful man with a wry grin. 

To be fair, it seemed Styles was just as caught off guard as Louis was. His mouth was slightly open and his cheeks were incredibly pink. 

“You’re…”

“Louis,” Louis said, putting his mail in one hand so he could hold out the other for a handshake. “The noisy neighbor from 2B. Sorry about that, by the way. I’m very embarrassed.”

“Harry,” Harry answered, a little breathless. “I...wow. Uhm, I’m really embarrassed myself? I’m so sorry, uhm…”

Harry stuck his hand out for a quick handshake before lifting it and running his fingers nervously through his long curls. God, this was every bit as awful and awkward as Louis had imagined. He was going to have to rub that in Liam’s face since he’d downplayed the situation before. 

Louis rubbed the back of his neck before offering a small smile and motioning back to the stairs. 

“It’s really okay. We can just...pretend it all never happened if you like? I’m just gonna escape back up to my apartment now, though. It was definitely interesting meeting you, Harry.”

And just like that, without any pride left, Louis literally ran back to his apartment, not caring if his door slammed behind him or not.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Fate was a nosy bitch. Or at least, that’s what Louis had decided. 

Every since that ridiculously awkward meeting by the mailboxes, Louis hadn’t been able to  _ stop _ running into Harry in the stairwell. Or by the mailboxes. Or passing through the lobby as he was going in or out. 

As gorgeous as Harry was, Louis kind of wished it would stop. 

Louis did find another change interesting, though. The seven minutes of heaven (or hell) sexcapades had stopped. There hadn’t been any stomping or sex noises or slamming doors or anything to indicate anyone had been in the apartment aside from Harry since that Sunday. Considering Harry went from having sex (if it could even be called that) almost daily to cold turkey stopping almost two weeks ago, Louis was quite impressed. 

Then again, maybe those five to ten minute “intimacy sessions” - as Liam called them - might be happening somewhere else now. Louis was trying very hard not to care.

It  _ was _ hard not to care though when Harry was starting to strike up conversations with Louis whenever they saw each other and were headed the same direction. Just yesterday they’d had a fifteen minute discussion by the mailboxes about whether it was worth it to pay to get a favorite pair of boots resoled or if they should just purchase a new pair when they got to it.

All of this came to a head for Louis when he was walking up the stairs and he heard a now familiar deep voice say, “It’s a little disconcerting to me that I’m now familiar enough with your backside that I could probably recognize you from it.”

Louis froze and turned around to see Harry smirking at him.

“It’s a nice backside, though. Leaves an impression.”

“Harry,” Louis said, cheeks flaming a bit. “Don’t you have a partner or something? You shouldn’t be flirting with me.”

Harry’s face scrunched up adorably as he asked, “Uh, no? Why would you think that?”

Louis rolled his eyes and continued making his way upstairs. “You had regular enough short sex sessions up until a couple weeks ago to make me think otherwise.”

Louis heard Harry make a small choking noise before he asked, sounding almost strangled, “You could  _ hear _ those?”

Stopping on the landing for Louis’ floor, he turned and looked at Harry. “How loud exactly did you think I was being for you to make a noise complaint? If you could hear me, I absolutely could hear your bangs and squeaks and groans.”

“Oh my God.” Harry covered his face with his hands. “Okay, first of all, Logan is definitely not my boyfriend. And I cut him off two weeks ago.”

Louis opened the door to his floor and was amused to find Harry following him. 

“Okay. You should have before that, if the guy could only last like seven minutes. But you do you, I guess.”

“Excuse me?” Harry squeaked. “You could really hear us that well?”

“Unfortunately,” Louis muttered. When Harry was still behind him after Louis had unlocked his door, he pushed it open and waved inside. “Would you like to come in? I haven’t prepared for company or anything, but…”

Harry walked in, face still mostly covered by his hands. This was embarrassing him far more than Louis had anticipated. 

“I do have a question, though.” Louis wasn’t going to ask, but he figured why the hell not. At the very worst, Harry would start avoiding him and then their nearly non-existent relationship could be forgotten entirely. At best, Louis would finally get some answers. “Why’d you keep letting the guy come over if it really was that unsatisfying? There was definitely more than one night that I heard you keep going yourself after the guy had left. I mean, more often you were vacuuming like someone possessed within minutes, but sometimes...” 

Louis let his sentence fade away and watched as Harry threw himself onto Louis’ couch. It was his first time here, but he was acting like it was his own home. Louis shouldn’t be feeling as warm and fuzzy over that as he was.

Harry started laughing, somewhat hysterically, as Louis put his keys on the counter and set down everything he’d been carrying from work.

“Because I was in the middle of a stressful move to a new area thanks to issues with my old place and I had a new job with different hours on top of that and didn’t really have time to go and meet anyone new and Logan kept reaching out, so I figured why not. Bad sex on a regular basis was better than no sex, right?”

“No, I even took a bit of a poll, Harry,” Louis said as he grabbed his package of chocolate oreos from the cabinet. He walked over into the living room and handed Harry the package before moving Harry’s feet so he could sit down on the couch as well. It was his only furniture in the room and he wasn’t about to sit on the floor if he could help it. “We all decided that bad sex is just bad sex and it should be avoided at all costs, so really I’m happy you stopped letting him come over. He seems like a total fuckwad.”

“God he really was. Is. Whatever.” Harry sighed heavily. “I can’t believe you actually timed us.”

“Timed  _ him, _ more like, if the fact you were constantly vacuuming and finishing yourself afterwards was any indicator.”

Harry laughed and dragged his hands down his face. “I mopped the tub as well. That was a new low point.”

“Mopped… the tub?” Louis asked confused. “Like you took an actual mop and used it on the tub?”

Harry nodded. “It was wet in there, i was tired and frustrated and knew it was too late to vacuum so I decided to work on the bathroom once I’d finished my shower and noticed how dirty the tiles were. Didn’t have energy to properly scrub, so I just used the mop.”

“God, if it was that bad you should have just come and knocked on my door.” Louis froze. His brain to mouth filter was poor at the best of times, but right now he was seriously regretting it. “I just, I mean…” Louis decided to avoid talking and avoid making eye contact with Harry by reaching over for the oreos and shoving one in his mouth, with two more in hand for back up.

He hadn’t meant to make it sound like he was offering himself up for sex when Harry’s booty calls went wrong, but at the same time, Harry really was beautiful. And his moans before had gotten Louis hard on a couple occasions. And he had dimples and beautiful hair and a gorgeous back and… Okay fine. Maybe Louis was offering himself up for sex whenever Harry wanted it. At least Louis would ensure Harry enjoyed himself for more than seven minutes.

“Not sure that would have been a good idea,” Harry said slowly. 

Louis couldn’t help it. Upon hearing Harry say that, his heart sank a little before racing faster with even more embarrassment. God, he’d never felt his cheeks heat up as much as they had since Harry moved in here. 

Harry cleared his throat and said softly, “Apparently we’re both fairly loud. Imagine the two of us together.”

At that, Louis looked up and saw Harry’s own cheeks flaming and Louis could. Imagine them together. If he was honest, he had been ever since he’d seen Harry at the bar, but now that he knew Harry was also his neighbor, the idea of his body paired with his groans had helped Louis finish himself in the shower just that morning.

Harry finally looked up into Louis’ eyes, and they both sat there awkwardly before Harry pulled his legs off of Louis’ lap and stood up.

“Shit, I can’t believe I just barged in here. I’m sorry. I’ll let you go and leave you be.”

“No, it’s…” Louis watched as Harry grabbed his keys out of his pocket and headed slowly towards the door. “It’s okay. For real, though. Don’t be a stranger. You’re welcome anytime.”

Harry gave a soft smile. “Thanks, Louis.”

Once the door shut, quietly thanks to Harry being attentive, Louis threw himself back onto the couch. What a nightmare.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis had been kicking himself since Thursday. Why the hell hadn’t he made some sort of a move? The comments Harry had made about his ass in the stairwell paired with the comment he made about imagining them together sexually had made Louis ruminate and decide he would probably, maybe, not be horrified at Louis kissing him. Possibly more than kissing him. Hopefully more. But definitely starting with a kiss was a good idea.

Either way, it was now Saturday night and Louis was staying in because he was tired and horny, but the only person he wanted was Harry so going out wouldn’t help that at all. It was nearly ten, and Louis had been listening to Harry walk around, not stomp, all evening. Louis wanted to know what he was doing. What he was thinking about. If he’d considered what his lips might feel like against Louis’. 

Louis was a mess.

Finally deciding he should just get to bed and maybe watch some Netflix, Louis stripped down and pulled on just a pair of basketball shorts before crawling under his covers. He was scrolling his queue when he heard Harry start moaning upstairs. 

Frozen with his hands above the keyboard, Louis focused on Harry and the sounds he was making. The bed made minimal squeaks and there wasn’t any banging or anything indicating someone had joined Harry, but his moans were definitely of the sexual variety.

Shit. Louis was starting to harden in his shorts and he shoved the laptop onto his nightstand as he gripped the blankets beside him. He was absolutely  _ not _ going to work himself over to the sounds of Harry getting off. That would be about seventeen different kinds of wrong and awkward wrapped up in a ball of sexual frustration. 

But then, the moans started sounding like words. Maybe. It was probably just Louis’ imagination, right? Wishing he could hear Harry clearly enough to know what he was saying?

Louis grabbed his phone from where it was charging and pulled up his texting conversation with Liam.

_ Louis: I think Harry is playing with himself and I can almost make out what he’s saying _ __  
_ Louis: But I also might just be imagining the words because it’s what I want to hear. _ _  
_ __ Louis: Please advise what I should do.

Liam immediately began typing, but also deleted everything and started fresh at least three times if the starting and stopping of the typing was any indicator. Meanwhile, Harry was getting louder and Louis was getting harder and it was a horrible mess.

_ Liam: As long as he doesn’t say your name, you should put on headphones and ignore it, bro. _

Right then, something that sounded like  _ Louis _ came through his ceiling.

“Fuck,” Louis whispered. “I imagined that, right?” Louis smacked his cheek lightly, but then it repeated again.

_ “Louis,”  _ came clearly through the ceiling.

Eyes wide, Louis picked the phone back up.

_ Louis: And what if he is saying my name? _

_ Liam: This is Zayn. Get the fuck up there and show him what good sex is like. Get your boy and stop fucking texting us. _

Louis dropped his phone and scrambled out of bed. Not even bothering to put on a shirt or shoes, he grabbed his keys off the counter and rushed upstairs. Who cared if anyone saw him. If everything went well, Louis would be in Harry’s apartment in seconds having what would hopefully be mind-blowing sex.

Rushing through the door to the third floor, Louis stood in front of 3B and knocked. He was a little nervous about knocking too loudly when it was past ten, but it was also the weekend and he needed to be sure Harry would hear him even with his moaning. This could go so wrong, but Louis also hoped it would be okay.

When Harry opened the door, his hair was wild and lips bitten, but he immediately reached out and pulled Louis inside. 

“Took you long enough,” he said, before the door slammed shut. 

“Sorry,” Louis apologized. “Took me a bit to catch on.”

Harry’s cheeks dimpled as he began to lead Louis towards his bedroom. “As long as you got here.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

_ Liam: So, I really do want to know if it all turned out okay _ _  
_ _ Liam: Even if Zayn says it makes me a nosey shit _

_ Louis: Harry finally got a full workout, if that’s what you’re asking _ _  
_ _ Louis: But we really should probably look for someplace with thicker walls if we don’t want the neighbors to hate us. _

_ Liam: That was more information than I ever needed, but I suppose I asked for it _ _  
_ _ Liam: Either way, I’m happy for both of you, but please don’t text me about Harry’s sex life anymore. I’ve heard enough. _

 

**Author's Note:**

> You made it all the way to the end! Hurray! Hopefully you liked it and it made you giggle some haha If you did enjoy the read, I would be incredibly grateful for you to leave me a kudos and a kind comment that I will respond to as soon as my anxiety allows me to. Your comments are my life blood and give me the motivation to continue writing my five gazillion other projects I've got in mind haha I also have a fic post you can reblog [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/173295057348/not-the-desperate-type-6k-by-lululawrence-first) so others know the fic exists as well. Again, I very much appreciate your reblogs as well. 
> 
> Thanks again! xxx
> 
> Interested in helping support charities with fanfic? If you are, I could write a fic for you! Check out the info [here on Tumblr](https://1dfanworksforcharity.tumblr.com/post/174494969280/1d-fanworks-for-charity-auctions-for-lululawrence).


End file.
